One man's journey to live out a childhood dream of attending Phillies Phantasy Camp… and to honor the memory of his beloved father.

1/18/12 – Day One of the 2012 Phillies Phantasy Camp

After going through the usual rigmarole of checking in baggage, shuffling through security, removing my belt, shoes, etc., then putting back on said belt, shoes, etc., I finally was able to relax and get something to eat inside the JetBlue terminal at J.F.K.. The first thing I notice is the song playing over the speakers in the food court: John Fogerty’s “Centerfield”. Last year when I arrived at Tampa International, I had a similar experience with The Verve’s “Lucky Man”. That really set the tone for that particular Camp: emotional, sentimental, and a sense of life returning to normal with Camp being the perfect end to my year.

This time, “Centerfield” couldn’t have been any more appropriate. I was returning to my team. I wouldn’t be looking around like a little kid in rightfield, taking in the wonder of standing on the same fields that many great current players have taken their positions on (well, not quite as much).

I was ready to play.

As if I wasn’t already in a good mood this morning. That made it even better.

While in flight, I decided to take a break from my book (nothing will put you more in the mood for sunny Florida like a story about a zombie apocalypse), I put on my headphones and kept the baseball music theme going with the amazing soundtrack to the movie “Moneyball”. I don’t want to sidetrack here, but Mychael Danna’s compositions (as well as songs by This Will Destroy You and Kerris Dorsey) are absolutely beautiful compliments to that fantastic movie.

Anyway, let’s return.

After a thankfully uneventful flight, I made my way to the luggage claim, and was greeted with this sight.

Why thank you. And top billing I see. Very nice. I’m sure they would have put us at the bottom if they knew my prowess (or lack thereof) at the plate.

I had some time to kill before I met up for the shuttle to the hotel. So back to the zombies!

I made my way over to the rendezvous point. There they were; Phillies hats, shirts, jackets, and duffle bags. Now it’s finally hit me. That perpetual smile I will have for the next five days appears. I see a fellow camper, John, whom I met last year. He comes over and we exchange all sorts of pleasantries and he tells me how much he can’t wait to read my take on this year’s Camp. I then meet another John from Connecticut. John signed up right for Camp after Christmas, so he never got to experience orientation. He really did not know what to expect. I was more than happy to fill him in. We spoke of our love of the Phillies, having to live amongst Yankees and Mets fans, and our excitement for Camp.

We sat next to each other on the bus and continued our conversation. He told me a very funny story about a time in 1995 when he was driving his family and came across a rebroadcast of a 1966 Phillies game on the radio. He mentioned how he remembered this specific game and thought he’d have fun with his one son. He woke him at the moment before a grand slam was about to hit. “I bet you he hits a grand slam right now”. Whack! Later, when By Saam announced Tony Gonzalez to the plate, his son inquired about this player. John’s response? “We must have picked him up on the waiver wire.” John proceeds to predict another home run, which miraculously happens. His son, or course, is in disbelief. He eventually admits his deception. Classic.

We arrive to the Marriott Suites on Sand Key. Deja vu all over again. The lobby is decked out exactly the same with banners and balloons. The Marriott staff are all sporting Phillies caps. They take our luggage away, and off to the check-in tables I go. “Welcome back”s and “Great to see you again”s from everyone at ESF. I grab all my stuff and head to the room, past Jim Eisenreich and Ricky Bottalico, who was making his way to the Carpenter Complex for one of the various pre-camp clinics.

I wind down a bit in the room. My roommate Sam arrives not too long after me. I met Sam last Camp. Since he lives just across the river from NYC, we’ve had a couple car rides to and from Citizens Bank Park in the last year. He settles in and we make our way to the tiki bar to quickly dispose of our two complimentary drink tickets.

The heavy rain that followed us from the airport had finally subsided which meant we could enjoy our drinks al fresco.

In addition to some seagulls who joined us at the bar, three porpoises also made their presence known in the waters next to the hotel. Really, I can skip the actual baseball part of this trip. I’ll just stay here.

The rookies went in for their introductory meeting, most likely filled with countless jokes and threats of Kangaroo Court from Larry Andersen. The veterans met separately for a quick pow-wow. We were given white t-shirts with “Phillies Phantasy Camp Alumni” written on them. We would be wearing these as we welcomed in the rookies tomorrow morning in the clubhouse. As the rookie meeting was winding down, the veterans were introduced along with all the Phillies Legends.

John Kruk was late.

Unfortunately, the rain earlier in the day caused the welcome reception/luau to be moved indoors. It was still a great time to connect with old teammates and campers from last year, and finally meet, in person, folks who I had been speaking to via email who were going to Camp for the first time.

Before I made my way to the hotel bar, I headed back to the room to drop off my t-shirt. Von Hayes got in to the elevator and commented on my new maroon Adidas sneakers. Just as he was finishing telling me how he like the color, Mickey Morandini gets on and immediately repeats Von’s sentiment. Mickey then turns to Von and says, “that color was from your era”. Von responds by saying how much he hated those uniforms and how he had such problem lining up the stripes from the jersey to the pants.

It’s stuff like this that truly makes this Camp worth coming down for. Fashion talk with two former Phillies.

I returned to the bar, yada yada yada, I was asleep in my bed.

Ah, but this time, I learned from my rookie mistake from last year. Mind the booze and take aspirin before bed, because this is what I have to look forward to tomorrow morning…

2 Comments

Hey Brian! Got back from my second Mets Fantasy Camp on the 15th. What a blast I had with a bunch of guys I originally went to the first camp with in 2009! As you say, I was a lot smarter this year and had the trainers stretch me every morning and did the cold and hot tubs between games and after games. I was on a team coached by Doug Flynn, Bobby Wine, and Turk Wendell. What a great bunch of coaches! We had a lot of laughs and ended up going 7-0 and won the camp championship. Needless to say, I still hurt all over (having caught the whole week), but it was all worth every pain. Personally, I went 12 for 23 (.522) with 9 RBIs and a 2-run triple in the championship game (could hardly catch my breath when I got to third).

Hey Mike!
So glad to hear you had a great (and extremely successful) time! Next time I see you we need to compare notes… again! Did you talk to Bobby Wine about his playing and coaching days with the Phillies? Same with Turk? Probably not, right? ; )

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About

Originally hailing from Wilmington, DE, Bryan has been a lifelong fan of the Philadelphia Phillies ever since that fateful day in 1982 when his dad bought him his very first pack of baseball cards. Inside? An All-Star card for Mike Schmidt.

Since 2001, Bryan has been living in New York City, exploring all his varied interests... photography, writing and performing music, and blogging about his Phillies.

On the morning before Game 6 of the 2009 World Series, Bryan's father passed away. This tragic event inspired Bryan to live out one of his childhood dreams of attending Phillies Phantasy Camp. Through his writing and photography, Bryan is now chronicling this experience, and at the same time, honoring the man who brought the wonderful game of baseball and most importantly, the Phillies, into his life.

Websites:Bryan Sargent PhotographyYou can contact him at bryansargent (at) gmail (dot) com or follow him on Twitter @BTSargent.

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